Started today with five pars. Not a single bad shot although one 7i drifted far enough right that I wasn't on the green, but I was close enough to use my putter.
Par 5 #6 hit a good tee shot but then pull a hybrid left towards a tree. Now I have 150 to the green, but I'm blocked directly ahead by the tree and there's a limb preventing a high shot. I decide to hook a low running 8i around the tree to see if I can get up close to the green. Minute I hit it I knew it was good, only question was whether in was front, middle or back of green but pin was in the middle so I'm feeling good. My partner says "oh." "What?" "You hit something." Ball stopped five yards from green.
Maybe not the best shot but surely an interesting one. Think about the old Golf Channel show "Big Break" where they had a challenge where they had to hit a shot and break a pane of glass twenty yards away.
Hit my drive into the trees on the third hole. From there I had two choices. Option one was to punch out to the fairway. I could only safely advance the ball 30 yards or so, which would leave me a 7i into a tucked hole location. From there bogey wasn't assured and DB would be in play. I really wanted to get within 100 yards or so that I could have a wedge in and routine bogey.
Option two: 20 yards or so in front of me the tree that was blocking me split into a "Y", probably 10-15 above the ground. Took a 9i and punched it right through the glass window. Left me about 65 yards from the hole, hit a nice wedge to 10 feet. Missed the putt but it ended as a no stress bogey. Never in my +1000 rounds do I remember even trying such a shot.
bkuehn1952.2 wrote: Sun Sep 08, 2024 8:21 am
Shot of the decade: my 10 foot putt on #18, Hudson Mills, that allowed me to shoot my age. Fortunately, I did not know the importance of that putt.
The 10th hole on the Oaks course is a tough par 4, only 355 yards from the white tees but the fairway is narrow with trees and deep rough left and a large bunker right. There’s also a water starting about 50 yards from the green, so it takes a good straight drive to get over in two.
Hit my drive into the bunker. Was tempted to go for it but there was a 1-2 club wind into my face so I decided to lay up. Hit my wedge a little thin but it fortunately stopped just short of the water, 52 yards from the hole. Meanwhile one of my partners laid up and then hit a wedge pretty close - couldn’t tell if it was 4 feet or 1, but it turned out to be 6 inches. Almost waited to have him mark but went ahead and hit. At first I thought I was right at his ball but then I moved inside and then into the hole for birdie.
On the next hole I put the wedge to 3 feet only to miss the putt. So over the last 4 or 5 rounds, only two birdies - one chip in and one from 52 yards.
GBOGEY wrote: Sat Feb 08, 2025 3:13 pm
The 10th hole on the Oaks course is a tough par 4, only 355 yards from the white tees but the fairway is narrow with trees and deep rough left and a large bunker right. There’s also a water starting about 50 yards from the green, so it takes a good straight drive to get over in two.
Hit my drive into the bunker. Was tempted to go for it but there was a 1-2 club wind into my face so I decided to lay up. Hit my wedge a little thin but it fortunately stopped just short of the water, 52 yards from the hole. Meanwhile one of my partners laid up and then hit a wedge pretty close - couldn’t tell if it was 4 feet or 1, but it turned out to be 6 inches. Almost waited to have him mark but went ahead and hit. At first I thought I was right at his ball but then I moved inside and then into the hole for birdie.
On the next hole I put the wedge to 3 feet only to miss the putt. So over the last 4 or 5 rounds, only two birdies - one chip in and one from 52 yards.
On a day when I was struggling, on the 9th hole I have 15 yd pitch to a front pin. I land a high spinning spot one yard short, the ball bounces, hits the pin right at the bottom of the hole, and stays out two inches away. It looked like maybe the ball actually went down into the hole and bounced out, but not convincing enough to claim a birdie.
Then on the 15 hole par 3, I hit a PW two yards short. Two yards longer and it bounced up to close birdie range, but instead it hits the grass at the top of the bunker and drops backward into it. Okay, should be an easy bunker shot, worst case easy on and two putt for bogey. But I blade it instead and the ball flies long into the hazard.
Pissed, I dropped another ball, hit the shot, and dunked the ball into the hole no bounce. Never did that before. Of course, still a bogey.
I've felt that lately I haven't been getting my share of good breaks - Memorial Day is a case in point. Solid front 9 was turning bad when on a par 3 I hit a 9i directly at the pin. The ball landed eight feet below the hole, bounced forward twice, and hit the pin dead square from which it bounced 10 feet backwards behind the pitch mark. Needless to say I didn't make the putt.
So yesterday on hole #1 I have 128 to a middle pin. I decide to hit PW even though that is the max distance as I had a little helping wind. Of course I hit it totally flush, hit a downslope and barely stayed on the green 50 feet from the hole. Nice two putt for par.
#2 again have PW distance, but this time I don't catch it well. Barely made the green, but a difficult 50 feet from the hole again. Once again a very nice two putt to save par.
#3 hit a huge drive so once again I have PW (instead of my usual 8i or 7i for the hole). Finally got the distance right, but pushed it just a little right into rough, maybe 15 feet from the hole pin high. Routine chip to two feet saves par.
#4 has a huge live oak in the middle / left of the fairway. The skilled shot is to hit over the tree or draw around the right side so that you have a wedge over a water hazard into the green. I usually hit a fade over the right side of the tree so that I have 8i or 9i to the green but at a tougher angle. I decided to really try to go over the tree, but instead pull the ball right into the middle of the tree. Happily the ball went right through the tree unscathed leaving me between wedges, but I decided why not hit PW again. But it was too much club which caused me to ease up and blade the ball. It was two yards short of the embankment, but then it decided to skip through the water, Masters style, right over the railroad ties into the rough over the hazard. From there, I almost holed the chip and had a few inches for par.
GBOGEY wrote: Mon Jun 02, 2025 5:31 am
I've felt that lately I haven't been getting my share of good breaks - Memorial Day is a case in point. Solid front 9 was turning bad when on a par 3 I hit a 9i directly at the pin. The ball landed eight feet below the hole, bounced forward twice, and hit the pin dead square from which it bounced 10 feet backwards behind the pitch mark. Needless to say I didn't make the putt.
So yesterday on hole #1 I have 128 to a middle pin. I decide to hit PW even though that is the max distance as I had a little helping wind. Of course I hit it totally flush, hit a downslope and barely stayed on the green 50 feet from the hole. Nice two putt for par.
#2 again have PW distance, but this time I don't catch it well. Barely made the green, but a difficult 50 feet from the hole again. Once again a very nice two putt to save par.
#3 hit a huge drive so once again I have PW (instead of my usual 8i or 7i for the hole). Finally got the distance right, but pushed it just a little right into rough, maybe 15 feet from the hole pin high. Routine chip to two feet saves par.
#4 has a huge live oak in the middle / left of the fairway. The skilled shot is to hit over the tree or draw around the right side so that you have a wedge over a water hazard into the green. I usually hit a fade over the right side of the tree so that I have 8i or 9i to the green but at a tougher angle. Yesterday I decided to really try to go over the tree, but I instead pulled the ball right into the middle of the tree. Happily the ball went right through the tree unscathed, leaving me between wedges to the green. So I decided why not hit PW again. But it was too much club, which caused me to ease up and blade the ball. It came up two yards short of the embankment, but then the ball skiped through the water, Masters style, right over the railroad ties into the rough over the hazard. From there, I almost holed the chip and had a few inches for par.
